Everything You Need to Know About the Puppy Bowl

The best things about the Super Bowl are the commercials, the half-time show, and of course, the Puppy Bowl — the cutest competitive sporting event you will ever see in your life. If you're wondering what this game is all about, you've come to the right place. Because if one thing is for sure, it's that we are proud advocates of the Puppy Bowl.

What is the Puppy Bowl?

The Puppy Bowl, first aired in 2005, is an adorable remake of the Super Bowl that uses puppies instead of football players. The actual game is played in a model stadium — usually the Animal Planet stadium — sans audience and boring over-rated sports commentary. This year, however, the pups will play in the all-new bone-shaped GEICO stadium, equipped with more than a dozen cameras for prime puppy viewing.

A "water bowl cam" will also allow viewers to see hard-to-film shots of puppies lapping up water through the transparent bottom of a special water bowl that is built into the floor.

(Photo Credit: Animal Planet)

While the puppies "compete," a "referee" will watch over the action on the field. This year, Beer Money! host Dan Schachner will be calling the shots with his assistant referee, Shirley, a rescue sloth. During the "game," football jargon is often used by the announcer to describe what's going on between the puppies. Whenever a puppy drags one of the football-shaped toys into the end zone, for example, the announcer will declare that the puppy made a "touchdown," and "penalties" are issued whenever a puppy relieves him or herself on the playing field. Too cute!

The show also uses cute puppy puns to mimic the rules of a normal football game. "Pass interference," for example, is referred to as a "paws interference," and any "offsides" calls are referred to as "ruff sides." We're dying!

When is the Puppy Bowl

This year's Puppy Bowl — Puppy Bowl XIV — will air on Sunday, February 4 at 3 p.m. ET. Don't forget to "tail" gate with the Puppy Bowl Pre-Game Show at 2 p.m. ET, which will feature commentary from sports anchor James Hound, with Rodt Weller and Sheena Inu serving as pregame show analysts.

(Photo Credit: Animal Planet)

In addition, the Puppy Bowl creators have decided to add an extra twist to this year's event by pre-gaming with The Dog Bowl, Animal Planet's first-ever adoptable adult dog competitive game show. The Dog Bowl — hosted by animal advocate Jil Rappaport — will air on February 3, at 7 p.m. ET. The Dog Bowl will include rescue dogs from 11 states and 50 dogs between the ages of two and 15.

What channel is the Puppy Bowl on?

The Puppy Bowl XIV will air on Animal Planet.

Team Ruff Vs. Team Fluff

In 2015, the Puppy Bowl added a little competition to the game by dividing the pup players into two teams — Ruff and Fluff. We're more than excited to meet this year's team members. With 90 players from 48 different shelters and rescues, this year's Puppy Bowl will be the biggest ever!

(Photo Credit: Animal Planet)

The Dog Bowl will also be divided into two teams — the Paws and the Tails.

Can I adopt a Puppy Bowl puppy?

Yes! You absolutely can — that's why there's a Puppy Bowl in the first place. Animal Planet has an amazingly long list of agencies and organizations where you can adopt a Puppy Bowl puppy on its website.

(Photo Credit: Animal Planet)

Kitty Play Half-Time Show

Like the real Super Bowl, the Puppy Bowl also has a half-time show. Except instead of cheerleaders and singers, this show features fuzzy kittens playing with laser pens, lights, and balls of yarn for an entire 30 minutes. If you'd rather not watch kittens rolling around with balls of yarn, you might want to wait until the grand finale. Apparently, the well-known felines Prince Michael and Phil the Cat from Aaron’s Animals will be performing a kitty rendition of NSYNC's 2000 hit "Bye, Bye, Bye." Now that's something we'd like to see!

(Photo Credit: Animal Planet)

This year's half-time show will feature adoptable kittens provided by the ASPCA of New York.

Puppy Bowl Starting Lineup

When it comes to cuteness, the Puppy Bowl will be bursting with it. With more than 30 pups joining the starting lineup — including Mango, a sweet shelter pup rescued by Compassion Without Borders — this is definitely going to be one of the best games yet!